It's been a while

It's been a whirlwind of a summer and I just wanted to take some time to catch up on the highlights. A lot of big changes for our little family.

The house: we put our house on the market the beginning of the summer...sometime in May I think. We didn't really expect much to happen but desired to move into a bigger house so decided to give it a go. It was a lot of work to get it all ready...we didn't have to do anything major just small things here and there, decluttering and cleaning. There were some tiring late nights. And then, once it was on the market, having to have it always ready to show at a moments notice and be out of the house, well lets just say with two small children it was less than enjoyable. I thought I had come to my breaking point when we had 4 showings in 5 days (or something like that) after our house had been on the market for a month, when lo and behold we got an offer. I was honestly shocked when I found out. The offer was a lowball offer but our realtor was confident we would get the number up and work out a deal. I was skeptical because it was such a lowball, but she was right we negotiated back and forth and we got the ideal number that we wanted for the house. Once again I was shocked. To add to that, we found out the closing date was going to be just over a month away and only four days after we would get back from our west coast vacation. Which left us with 1) little time to pack, and 2) very little time to figure out where to move because, oh yeah, we hadn't looked at one house yet. We were not expecting it to happen so fast. So we either had to find a house to buy really fast or move into a rental. The idea of moving twice was extremely unattractive, especially because I am pregnant and due in November. That was the last thing we wanted to do. There was one house we were already considering, a friend of Marks who had been renting the house he previously lived in since they moved into their new house, so that was one option but we wanted to look at other houses too to compare and see what was out there for the price range we were looking at. We went on a crash course week of looking at houses, and at the end of it all we decided his friends house was going to be the best option. The move went pretty smoothly, and although I wouldn't recommend moving while pregnant I am thankful it happened when it did instead of right before or right after the baby was born. I also could not have done it without all the help I received of people watching the boys and helping me pack.

The baby: The very same day we got the offer on our house, we also found out we were expecting our third son. I was not surprised at all...I am never one to have any kind of "intuition" as to the gender of my babies, but the week we were going to find out the gender the baby started moving A LOT. Just like the boys did. So I started to assume it was a boy. And I ended up being right. I laughed when I saw it on the screen. And then I thought "oh goodness I am in trouble." Not in a bad way. I'm thankful for another son, I love my boys. But I am very outnumbered and that is going to be a lot of testosterone in the house. The pregnancy has gone well, as far as pregnancies go...no complications, and I've been able to keep running which I am thankful for. 

Our west coast trip: we usually make a trip out west each summer to visit my family and typically we will go to Cannon Beach, Oregon while we are there. This year I was really looking forward to the trip, with both boys being a little older I knew they would have a blast and certain things would be a lot easier, and I really wanted to soak up and cherish this time with them on this vacation before everything changes. We had such an awesome time. It was our best vacation yet...normally vacation is so exhausting and you feel like you need a vacation after the vacation, but not this time. The boys loved the beach, they slept great, we had an entire unit all to ourselves which meant we had lots of space...they had their own bedroom, we had our own bedroom, and then a whole living area and kitchen. We went on walks on the beach to haystack rock and saw lots of cool sea life, they played in the sand and the tide pools, they swam in the pool, got so worn out from all the activity that they both took long naps every day....it was great. We had some days in Seattle too to do some of their favorite things there-ferry ride, monorail/light rail to Seattle center, museum of flight, the zoo. It went too fast and I wasn't ready to come back...knowing that we had this big move in front of us right when we got back. But I am thankful for the memories I have of this trip and that I was able to really take the time to enjoy it. 

A few pics from our summer:

And...at the moment we are at disney world(!) so hopefully there will be a post about this trip after we get back, definitely one I will want to remember. 

My thinker

Emmory is a thinker. He seems to have a brain that works a lot like mine...he analyzes, over-thinks and has to understand how everything works. This makes for some very interesting questions. He is constantly stumping me with the things he asks. It also makes for some very hard questions. He has already asked several hard questions about God. There have already been times where I want to lie to him. I see the temptation to just tell your kid, don't worry, you are going to heaven, nothing bad is going to happen to any of us, etc etc. But I can't. Even though its hard and its only going to get harder...I want him to worry. I want him to fear. Because life separated from God is real. And even if I make him feel good and think that isn't going to happen so that he doesn't lay in bed at night scared, that isn't going to change reality. And I want him to fear life separated from God. I don't want him to think he is going to heaven and that God has changed his heart. The Bible says it isn't the one who is well who needs a physician, but the one who is sick. I want my boys to know they are sick. No matter how hard it might be and how scared it might make them (or me). During a sermon my pastor preached a while ago, he was talking about teaching the doctrine of election to his kids. And he basically said he wants to teach that to them right away and not shy away from it because he wants to drive the fear of God into their hearts with the reality that they might not be elect. I think about that a lot. Whenever I am tempted to shy away from the truth with Emmory because I'm scared of how it will affect him, I remember that.
So, back to the questions. Last night as I was putting Emmory to bed, he asked some more hard ones. First we talked about David and Goliath. He asked why God wanted David to kill Goliath. Then after I answered he asked why God didn't show Goliath that He was good. (Basically, why didn't God reveal himself to Goliath) Then he wanted to talk about Daniel and the lions den and asked why God closed the lions mouths. That one was an easy one. Then, he goes on to ask questions of theodicy. Really?! A 3 year old asking that. I am continually surprised by him. He asks about fires and why God allows them to happen, what Gods role is in them, and other things like that.
I am seeing why I have to be continually renewing my mind with Scripture and why it's so important for the word of Christ to dwell in me richly. I have to be ready to give an answer for the hope that lies within me. It takes preparation. It takes all those quiet moments of discipline when you sit down and read your Bible. And lots of prayer for wisdom. It is so good for me. It's good for me to have to answer these questions and its good for me to see what I don't know. I often think I don't have a lot of opportunities for evangelism and giving an answer because I am at home so much of the time. But another thing my pastor has taught me is that if you have kids, that is your number one opportunity for evangelism and sharing the gospel. It is built in. I have these two boys who at this point in their lives think the world of me and are looking to me for the answers. What an incredible opportunity, but also a humbling one.